


the aftermath

by greyingwarden



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Dissociation, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Found Family, Gen, Group Cuddles, Spoilers for Episode 87, Strong Language, Trent Ikithon is a Fucking Bitch, this isn't going to be canon compliant after today lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:08:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21765817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greyingwarden/pseuds/greyingwarden
Summary: "Especially you, Bren."His words are meant to destabilize. He was counting on Caleb not telling them anything, that much is clear. He wants them to pull away, to get angry, to lose any trust they may have in him. Trent Ikithon is a fucking bitch and there is no way Beau would ever abandon her family, now, not after she’s scraped the bottom of the fucking barrel for them all.
Relationships: Beauregard & Caduceus Clay & Fjord & Jester Lavorre & Nott & Caleb Widogast & Yasha, Beauregard Lionett & The Mighty Nein, The Mighty Nein & Caleb Widogast
Comments: 10
Kudos: 408





	the aftermath

“Especially you, Bren.”

And he saunters away.

His voice crawls up her spine, setting her on edge. The weediness, the accent, makes her feel like he’s breathing down her neck and she can’t imagine a teenage Caleb being subjected to _that_ for years.

Beau’s hand rests on Caleb’s shoulder and every part of her wants to lash out, to take three quick strides forward, wrench the fucker around to face her, and plant her fist in his ugly fucking face. 

His words are meant to destabilize. He was counting on Caleb not telling them anything, that much is clear. He wants them to pull away, to get angry, to lose any trust they may have in him. Trent Ikithon is a fucking bitch and there is no way Beau would ever abandon her family, now, not after she’s scraped the bottom of the fucking barrel for them all. There was something in his jaundiced eyes, something that makes her want to bare her teeth like Nott does, when the Nein formed a barrier between Caleb and the outside world, right before he moved past them.

“I don’t like him.”

_Yeah, me fucking neither, Jes._

“Should I go kill him?”

Beau wants, with everything she can, for Yasha to kill him then and there. She wants her to raise the Skingorger and kill him just as she was almost killed earlier in the day. She wants Trent Ikithon to die, bloody and pierced through, just for the fraction of what she’s learned of him. But--

“No, no we--”

“We cannot.” Caduceus says, voice low, an expression wishing death upon his furred face.

They’re all beat to shit. Trying to go against such a powerful political player in front of the King, without any weapons, right after halting the fucking _Chained Oblivion’s_ return, was just _asking_ to die. Allura might back them up, same with Oremid Hass; Beau has a feeling the High Curator would, too. It still wouldn’t be enough, though, as much as she hates to admit it. Beau knows she’s almost died twice today, and she’s not particularly keen on trying for thrice. 

Yasha shifts, lowering her hand, remembering that she had relinquished her swords, “Just-- I don’t like him. He rubs me the wrong way.”

And, _oh shit_ , Yasha doesn’t know. At least, Beau doesn’t _think_ Yasha knows. No, she’s pretty sure she doesn’t. Wait. Did _Caduceus_?

“Maybe you should act on impulse,” Fjord says, not a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

“I was making a bit of a joke but…”

Beau wishes she wasn’t.

“Yeah…” Caduceus is still staring after the motherfucker, arms crossed and protecting Caleb’s back.

Caleb is frozen, not at all with them. His blue eyes are glazed, the same as that first time in the mines outside Alfield when Molly was still with them. Her tattoo _aches_ for a fraction of a second, like it had when Fjord had slapped it the first time. She grits her teeth and powers through, squeezing her hand on Caleb’s bony shoulder to ground herself.

They all exchange glances, seemingly deciding, and Beau nods. As gently as she can, she guides Caleb forward. He stumbles over his own feet and she rights him without a word. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Jester slip her hand in his, forcibly interlacing their fingers. She bites down on the warmth that builds in her chest, because now isn’t the time to go all wide-eyed and light-hearted at how much Jester cares for each of them.

The Marshall pins them with a look as they approach, eyes briefly darting to the retreating figure of Trent Ikithon. _Something_ is in her gaze, but Beau has clocked the fuck out of dealing with politics for the day.

No words are exchanged as they follow her to their lodgings in the Shimmer Ward, only momentarily stopping to collect their weapons.

She leaves them there, with a thinly veiled warning; _do not leave this city. If you do, we will find you._ What Beau does not say is that, if they decided to, the Empire would never be able to. They have the house in Rosohna, they have the Happy Fun Ball, they have the fucking Ball Eater. Yussa or Essek or Allura would be able to get them all set up with an anti-scrying necklace like Caleb’s, she’s positive.

The inn keep is looking at them with a wrinkled nose and pursed lips and Beau is already so _sick_ of this fucking place. It’s like an even more stuck up version of Kamordah, but with more politics and more child abusing wizards and an asshole King breathing down their necks.

“How many rooms will it be for you all?”

_Fuck_ , even their voice is annoyingly posh and holier-than-thou.

“One.” Beau says, instead, perfectly in time with Fjord, Nott, Jester, and Caduceus.

It’s the same procedure they took just last night in the Gentleman’s bar, despite their post-Cadogeist fear feeling like it happened weeks ago. It takes Beau by surprise, momentarily. The amount of shit that’s happened in the past 48 hours, the shit that they’re still dealing with, feels like it could fill up ten times that amount of time.

The keep’s eyebrows raise and they give them all a _look_ before naming a truly ridiculous price. Beau’s too exhausted to give them shit for it, as is Fjord, who places exactly that amount on the bar and not a single coin more.

They’re brief in their directions to the room and the Nein are moving as soon as the keep is done speaking. Caduceus hangs back for just a few seconds, Yasha momentarily taking his place guarding Caleb’s back as the firbolg requests that warm water and clean rags are sent to the room. 

There’s a quiet relief that settles over them. Beau feels disgusting, to be honest; her new Expositor garb is ripped and stained and bloody, and the skin that’s been knit back together with Jester and Caduceus’ healing itches wildly. She can’t wait to scrub her skin raw, to get rid of the lingering feeling of Yasha’s sword stabbing through her, to get rid of the memory of Obann’s tentacles wrapping around her and biting into her flesh.

Caduceus takes up the back, again, and Beau gives him a smile that feels more like a grimace. His face is still strangely serious, but it lightens as he inclines his head toward her with upturned lips.

They’re finally at the door, a shining silver _9_ standing out against darkly polished wood. Beau can't help but snort at the irony. Jester slips her fingers out of Caleb’s hand to open it, and Nott’s hand takes her place in an instant.

Jester’s in the room first, already going about dragging all of the blankets and pillows to the plush rug on the floor. Yasha joins her, clearly hesitant, while Caduceus hovers in the doorway behind them all, waiting, and Fjord goes about yanking the curtains over the various windows.

By the time Jester and Yasha finish, and Beau and Nott manage to wrangle Caleb’s coat and shoes off, the buckets of water and rags have been delivered. Caduceus shuts the door rather firmly, locking it, and wordlessly accepts the dagger Nott offers him to further secure it.

It’s too quiet, really, as they all begin to wet the rags and clean off the viscera coating them all. Nott gently runs one over Caleb’s face, and then on to his hands. Jester helps Yasha wash away the tear-streaked blue paint upon her face, and Yasha, in turn, braids her hair back when she’s done. Caduceus carefully goes about cleaning his staff of Obann’s stomach acid while lowly consoling the colony of beetles residing within. Fjord watches over them as he cleans off his armor, moving to his skin once he’s satisfied.

The silence starts crawling under her skin, same as Ikithon’s voice, and Caleb’s nearly catatonic state is _getting to her_ and she’s speaking before she can stop herself.

“That fucker should _burn _for what he--”__

__“ _Beau_!” Nott and Jester say simultaneously. Nott’s eyes are harsh but Jester is panicked and it takes a second before Beau feels like _shit_._ _

__“Wha-- _oh_. Oh, shit, fuck, sorry, I didn’t-- _fuck_.” Fuck, she’s such a _dumbass_ , why didn’t she think--_ _

__“Beauregard,” Caleb’s hoarse voice breaks through the suddenly stifling silence._ _

__He stretches his arm out, muscles straining, in a mimicry of what his ape form had done but hours before._ _

__Beau is frozen, momentarily. She’s not the best at physical affection, had only really been exposed to it after she’d ended up with this band of weirdos, and it still makes her pause. The smallest nudge from Caduceus, however, has her dropping down next to the only other human in the group with only a moment’s thought._ _

__Caleb rests his arm across her shoulders and she can _feel_ him shaking. It makes something inside of her choke up, whether from anger or sadness she can’t quite pick out, and she wraps her arm around him in return. He takes a moment of effort to snap Frumpkin into existence and the spoiled familiar stretches out across both of their laps._ _

__There’s a moment of stillness before, suddenly, everyone is in motion. Nott settles in on Caleb’s other side, curling up into the warmth of the wizard. Jester grabs Yasha’s hand and pulls them both down next to Beau, onto the nest of bedding, and she beckons Fjord with her free hand. Fjord sits at the edge of the nest, windows and door in clear sight of him and she mouths a _thanks_ in his direction. Plopping down in a strangely graceful way, Caduceus takes his place next to Nott and pauses before speaking._ _

__“I’m not sure what we did to offend h--”_ _

__“We didn’t do anything!” Nott says, voice gaining a higher pitch, and she turns to Caleb, “ _You_ didn’t do anything. He did stuff to _you_.”_ _

__“ _Liebling_ …”_ _

__“No.” Beau says, more harshly than she intends, “She’s right, Caleb. You didn’t fucking do anything to him. He was the one that ruined fucking everything and I’m not-- _we’re_ not going to let that fucker near you.”_ _

__Caleb is speechless, words stuck, and Beau can see the denial in his eyes. She can see that he still believes he’s responsible and she’s _angry_._ _

__Beau is, apparently, not the only one to see the denial. Yasha leans over her and Jester to place a hand on Caleb’s knee._ _

__“I’m… I’m not sure exactly what he did, but. It’ll take time, to stop believing it’s your fault.” Her mismatches eyes flicker over everyone around her and she awkwardly pats his knee one, twice, before leaning back, “We’re here to help you. Like you all helped me.”_ _

__They settle, after that. They all still have blood in their hair and seeping into their clothes, and half of them still have armor and shoes on. Despite this, despite new scars and new skin pulling uncomfortably as she lays down on the nest of bedding, Beau feels at ease. Fjord takes first watch and it’s reassuring, having people she trusts around her._ _

__Beau’s arm is slung over Caleb’s abdomen and Jester is pressed up against her back. Yasha’s arm is over them both, heavy but not suffocating. Nott is still curled into Caleb’s side and, next to her, Caduceus is spread wide, already snoring, fingers just barely brushing the wizard’s shoulder._ _

__They have shit to face in the morning, politics and returning gods and a piece of shit wizard who needs to die all swirling in her mind. It’s cheesy, how she thinks that they’ll be able to face it all as long as they stay together. It’s something out of a child’s storybook, found family and facing the unknown, but it’s come to life._ _

__Beau’s last coherent thought before succumbing to sleep is of asking Jester, come morning, if she could Send a message to the Cadogeist requesting that she kill Ikithon for them as a favor for freeing her from Obann._ _

**Author's Note:**

> i was listening to "What Did You Dream?" off of the undeadwood soundtrack on repeat the entire time i was writing this and I'm Emotion
> 
> reasons king dwendal is shitty: he yelled at wizard mom (allura). he insulted our dear cow man. he must Die. 
> 
> cadogeist kill the king (and trent) challenge


End file.
